It was with some relief that Elysian saw and felt the blast as lightening ignited the mangled war machine. Not only did the explosion clearly wound the monster, which was something of a relief, at least it could be hurt; but it meant he didn't have to carry it anymore. Magical exhaustion was no stranger to Elysian, not since he joined this band anyway, but carrying the great lump of metal on top of the other exertions of the day had him feeling about as tired as he had ever been. He couldn't rest though, not unless he wanted to rest for all of time. Running down the road he could hear Vryala reiterating her instructions to get away, to look for reinforcements. Elysian barely listened but he did not disagree. If the blast hadn't killed the Vermin lord then nothing else they had would, not that Saldrimek seemed to care. Elysian had long since realised that Sal was crazy and in his present state was in no mood to try and stop him, especially given that the bezerker wouldn’t listen to him. Elysian kept running.

Not much to add. Meeting up with the group.

_________________Moding a group of Druchii.net players is much like directing the musical 'Cats' using actual cats. Frustrating, difficult, chaotic but ultimatley satisfying and a great deal of fun.

The rats rounded the corner, and V sent the first grenade flying. Blood and gore spattered the alley, several meaningless lives ended in an instant, quite successfully drawing the ire of the mutant abomination that had herded them. Vryala now faced nothing less than certain death; as the Verminlord raised its glaive in retaliation she was nailed to the spot with defiant tears in her eyes, yet reaching out for more grenades. But then, a voice sounded from the street.

It was the Corsair brute, apparently oblivious to the danger issuing a challenge to the mighty beast. The terror turned away. Wasting no time, V let rip; scoring a couple of big hits leaving the Verminlord engulfed in flames. The barrage didn't seem to have injured it... rather just more annoyed. It turned its gaze from Casaythe back to her - Maybe that wasn't such a good idea, after all... The arcane glaive struck with lethal intent; she could but barely evade it, portions of dishevelled masonry hot on her track - too close a call for anyone's standards, and she decided to finally make a run for it. Karonath still lay on the street, sprawled amongst some crates after being blasted by the Rat Lord's magic; she had to pick up her closest friend and get them both the hell out of Dodge posthaste.

As she bolted, the roar behind her turned into an angered yelp. She did not look back. Using her shield to clear a path to the Khainite, she silently thanked Phalx for his assistance as she heard the high-pitched whistle of bolts and Clanrat death rattles around her. To her surprise, the giant rodent didn't seem to be following; something must have grabbed its attention. She obliterated one last Skaven snout, then leapt into cover beside K and immediately checked for vital signs. A small smile formed through the tears; K was breathing steadily, not hurt too badly, just knocked unconscious. Her grit would see her through, if V could but carry her to safety.

An almighty shock wave then knocked Vryala from her feet. This time she did look back, and saw the Verminlord with a rather baffled look in its Wyrdstone-addled eyes and the smoldering remains of a war machine in its paw. Moreover, it was hurting, and quite badly at that. She grinned with righteous vengeance. Quite how this most fortunate event had come to pass, she did not know, but if this beast knew pain it might well know hesitation - the group had a chance at survival, and Vryala felt it. Small though it was, Saldrimek now decided to make sure. He called out to her, urging her to retreat with Karonath. She never knew Sal to care much for K but now was not the time to question his emotions; his eyes burned with the deepest rage, such that at any other time V would have questioned how he could voice his intent so clearly. But instead she merely nodded solemnly, and reiterated her call to the rest. Okay people, let's go! We haven't the luxury to stay here and perish!

As they ran, V mused involuntarily. Is such enforced sacrifice the fate of all Devotees? First Khaina, now Saldrimek? If so, what does that mean for Karonath? Then, she shouted back to Sal: See you in another life, Xenan! I'll always remember you!

The moment after the blast seemed to stretch out, and what couldn't have been more than a few seconds felt like much longer as the group reacted to the momentary advantage. In many cases, seizing the initiative would give the group cause to charge in and finish the fight, but against this new foe it simply gave them the chance they needed to try and escape. Only Caraoc and Phalx were left behind the Verminlord, watching as the Greater Daemon was knocked down by the blast only to smash it's great fists into the ground and rise to it's haunches once again. The Shade was wary of his now precarious position, and jumped and caught the guttering that edged the roof above him, moments before the balcony lurched again and fell away beneath him, before shattering in the street below. The Shade reloaded as he ran along the rooftops, heading back to the end of the road.

Opposite, Caraoc tried to sing another song of magic in the moment after the Verminlord was struck, but found that calling down the lightning bolt had drained him of his energy. Not only that, but as the Verminlord roared in defiance to the arcane blow that had knocked it down, it seemed to pull tight the Winds of Magic about it and create a mental shield. The Daemon was a master of the chaotic energy of the Winds, and once again Caraoc found his attempt dispelled before he even realized he didn't have the mental strength left to continue. Fearing being left alone on the road in this drained mental state, the Corsair Mage dropped out of the hole in the wall onto the pile of rubble below as the Verminlord rose to it's feet, still smouldering and smoking, it's flesh red raw, it's eyes burning for revenge. He turned and ran in the direction of the others, and the earth started to tremble behind him as the Verminlord gave chase.

Up ahead, Elysian had just reached the group as Vryala slung Karonath over one of her shoulders, supporting the half conscious Khainite as she started to back away down the road. The warrior looked up and saw Phalx skirting along the rooftops towards them, and saw Caraoc heading towards their position with the Greater Daemon hot on his heels. Beside her Fiat was back on his feet too, and the warrior surged forwards to help her carry K, the three old friends taking one last look at Saldrimek as the Khainite stood before the oncoming Daemon and told them to run. Seeing the rest of the group break into a retreat, Casaythe waited as long as he dared for Caraoc to catch up to them before taking off as well. If Saldrimek heard their shouts and pleas he gave no sign, the Khainite stood transfixed by the oncoming Greater Daemon, the red veil of rage descended behind his eyes.

The group ran back up the road, towards the small junction where Shayla had left them and they had started to head down the narrow road towards the sewer entrance. It wasn't far, and within just a few seconds they could see that there was more fighting up ahead. Every moment saw them draw closer, Phalx at one point sliding down a rain pipe to join them on the ground. Moving as one again, the closer the group got to the skirmish up ahead the more they saw, and they realized it would be over before they even reached it to lend their support. Clearly the Rat Ogres that had been rumoured to block the street had been drawn away by the roaming Nauglir, leaving the Verminlord itself to defend the last Skaven strong point in Vikarh. It seemed the Rat Ogres had returned, one of them now carrying the large thigh bone of one of the reptilian Cold Ones as a club.

This monstrous Rat Ogre was the last to fall, the other half dozen of the brutes already reduced to heaps of unmoving muscle on the red stained snow around them. Rhamek of the Midnight Guard was living up to his title as the Beastslayer, having just buried his halberd in the spine of the bone wielding Rat Ogre after cutting it's hamstrings and knocking it face first into the dirt. The body of the massive brute shuddered as it died, letting out one last rattling breath before the junction where Rhamek and his Midnight Guardians had been fighting fell silent once again. The Beastslayer wiped his halberd blade on his black cloak as he looked up and raised a quizzical eye to the retreating group of mercenaries that were heading straight for him.

Rhamek had set off from the plaza with a dozen men, now only five stood by his side. The Midnight Guardians were the best trained and equipped warrior force in Vikarh, so the group knew without having to ask that the Drachs' elite had dealt with many more of the vermin on their way to the Skaven lair. Seeing the champion gave them a glimmer of hope, but as they cast backwards glances over their shoulders there was no sounds and no movement coming from back down the narrow road. Without the clash of blades upon the wind, the group doubted Saldrimek and the Verminlord still did battle in the street behind them. One or the other must have been slain, and as the Khainite was not walking out of the shadowy road with a great horned head in his grasp, they doubted it was good news. Rhamek broke the silence, stomping through the shin-deep blood stained snow to meet the group as they arrived.

"Steel yourselves mercenaries, do not flee for such foes are beneath even you! These abominations die like any other, and now they show fear like any other as well. I sense their lair must be nearby. Tell me, are there more of them down there, and if so, how many?"

Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:03 pm

Dauricha

Malekith's Best Friend

Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:22 pmPosts: 1032Location: England

Phalx fired bolt after bolt, at the scuttling ratmen, like some many furred cockroaches. He focused on these, and the the horrific demon, the walking titan of death. From the corner of his eye he saw his comrades duck and roll, even saw the metal Warpfire Thrower tossed at the horrendous brute. They were delaying the end though, by themselves they had no chance against the beast.

Another clip fell empty on the snow heavy balcony, as he shot down Skaven chasing Vryala. The rest of the group were caught fully in the madness below, and the wild Shade had to pick his shots carefully. He was blinded then, by a great tearing crack, as the heavens themselves exploded. Phalx was shot back , his cloak flapping wildly in the wind. He saw him then. Sal, his great axe in hand. He was shouting something, though it was lost on the wind. Clearly he wanted Phalx to move, and the shade had no objection to the idea. His perch was crumbling, and another jolt nearly sent Deathspitter, faithful bow, to the ground below.

He cursed and spat, but had to move before he went down. He ran over rooftops, the scene below lost for the moment. The great rat demon was righting itself with a vicious roar and cry. The balcony crumbled as he scrambled over roof, Deathspitter full with a fresh family of bolts.

He dared a glance to see the demon had been effected by the explosion, but knowing its kind that wouldn't last for long. He saw Vryala and the group, old and new before him, as he jumped the gap between an alleyway. He paused, his breath steaming before him. There stood Sal, the great elf seeming so small before the demon. Phalx shook his head, what had come over the mad bastard. The elf had traveled with them from the wastes, and had fought well beside the Shade. They had not shared many words, but the pair had fought side by side and spat in deaths eyes more time then Phalx could remember. With a snarl at the fools madness, he carried on, shimmying down a gutter in seconds to join the remaining mercenaries.

Gods pissed ogres! Phalx half roared, half screamed at the sight of the Skaven mutants. It appeared as though he was going to die this day. Fine then, he raised Deathspitter, just let him kill a few of the bastards. A new rumbling joined the crash and sounds of the city at war. Phalx's Shade instincts told him what it was. The cavalry, of sorts.

The Midnight Guard fell upon the rat ogres, with a skill and ferocity, Phalx envied and sought. Powerful allies indeed, maybe even the finest warriors of Virkarh. If anyone had a chance, if anyone could...

This thought brought him back to Sal. The street was quiet behind them. No cry of final charge, no scream of agony, demon or elf, nothing, just the light tickling laugh of a cold wind, that fluttered through his cloak. Another lost, another comrade dead. By the Gods he needed a drink. Rhamek, leader of the guard spoke, and shook them from their revere. They were tired and bloody, pushed beyond anything they had faced before. How many more would die, how many more comrades in arms given over to Khaine? The Shades gripped tightened on Deathspitter.

Rat Demon, great horrid brute. Twice the size of the ogres, and thrice as smart and deadly. I hope you brought some Hags with you, for this bastard a cruel c*nt!

Phalx will join ranks with the Midnight Guard, keeping close to his comrades, as they head into whatever fresh hell lays before them.

The sound of battle eerily absent, V was yet relieved to find Rhamek and his company on much the same mission. However, with arrogance so common to the Midnight Guard, he bade the group stand fast against the rat horde. Of course, in all his "wisdom" he could not fathom what terror moved in their wake, but the Shade was kind enough to inform him. She added to Phalx' account with an angry hiss.

The beast leading the Skaven is perhaps too powerful for even your axe to claim. It's infused with arcane power and malign intelligence. We stand to lose one of our closest allies already; do not throw your life away heedlessly!

They ran down the road, right into a small band of the Midnight guard. The guardsman's tone was abrasive, arrogant and snide. Though Elysian was usually shy of authority figures in his present mood he would not stand quiet for this.
"Steel yourself guardsman," he said with barely concealed anger "you may be good at filleting these beasts, down there is something far far worse. A daemon, dark and terrible. A Greater Daemon of Chaos. If you want to pit your blade against it with a handful of followers then go ahead, it will give us time to gather a force sufficient to take it down. Khaine knows where we will find one, have you seen the Witch king around here anywhere? He could banish this thing. Failing that, we need an army."

Even as he said it Elysian regretted his harsh words, antagonising the Midnight guard atop his record of attacking them outside the Drachs office made an investigation and subsequent discovery of his arcane talents all the more likely. Even so that tone was something he just couldn't stomach. These midnight guard, they trained hard and they fought well he had to give them that, but what had they ever really had to deal with? Had this bastard ever faced down a member of the Vache Cathal? Slain a daemon of Chaos? And they looked down on them.

No action as such.

_________________Moding a group of Druchii.net players is much like directing the musical 'Cats' using actual cats. Frustrating, difficult, chaotic but ultimatley satisfying and a great deal of fun.

Arch Deacon of the RPG forumGentleman of Moderation

Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:14 am

Calisson

Corsair

Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:00 pmPosts: 8708Location: Hag Graef

The last attempt to help the group (or a small part of it) to fight the giant beast failed flat. No more batteries. Uphill start.

Caraoc rose his repeater handbow and looked at his foe.
It was a very puny handbow. And an exceptionally large foe. Who was raising up again. In bad mood.

What was this feeling already? - Panic! - Get the hell out of there.
The ongoing race that followed would sure have beaten many speed records.

Worse than the sound of huge steps and the associated trembling of road's pavement, Caraoc could feel the waves of pure hatred irradiating from the deamon.
Without needing to give a look, Caraoc knew that it was getting closer. Too close.
A small music filled up his brain.
"Feel the city breakin'And ev'rybody shakin'And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive."

Avoiding ice patches here and there, an unnatural eerie feeling kept Caraoc from skidding or falling. His lucky star was still watching him from Heavens.
"Well now, I get low and I get highAnd if I can't get either I really try.Got the wings of Heavens on my shoes"

Caraoc passed one of the group's Khainite, the only mercenary facing danger.
He was raising his huge axe in a daring challenge. Was him challenging the daemon or death itself?
Caraoc didn't care. He had tried to help twice, didn't work, not his fault.
"Ah, ha, ha, ha,Stayin' alive.Life goin' nowhere. Somebody help me. Somebody help me, yeah."

The group was close now. Good news, it had joined another group. Better news, they were not fleeing anymore.
Caraoc passed the group and came to a rest, trying to catch his breath near Casaythe.
Only then did he realize that the daemon was no longer at his heels.

Too happy to be still able to breathe, Caraoc couldn't even say "hi".
Oooh, what a nice sound, my own breath. I can't believe I'm still alive. That's another story to tell in taverns that nobody will believe but will earn me a bottle.Normally, with his sea dragon cloak, his handbow and his sailor's clothes, the newcomers would assume as usual that he was a corsair, obviously.

_________________Winds never stop blowing, Oceans are borderless. Get a ship and a crew, so the World will be ours! Today the World, tomorrow Nagg!{--|oBrotherhood of the Coast!o|--}

Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:07 am

Nightcall

Malekith's Personal Guard

Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:16 pmPosts: 844Location: England

"Get the hell out of there..." Casaythe thought as he watched Caraoc run for his life, the ratty daemon hot on his heels. He waited until he could smell the foul thing's breath and then decided it was far too close for comfort. If Caraoc got himself eaten, that was his own stupid fault. He should have stayed in the pub. The corsair turned and ran to catch up with the others.

To his relief (despite the endless stream of irritating songs), Caraoc managed to reach safety. The monster had been distracted by the Khainite with the death wish.

They had reached another group of Druchii who he found out were the famous Midnight Guardians who appeared to have defeated a pack of rat ogres. With nothing to add to the conversation, Casaythe kept quiet whilst the others spoke their minds. His new companions seemed distressed, angry even, and he could understand why. He waited patiently as he kept glancing behind to see if the Khainite survived, or worse, the verminlord began heading their way.

He looked at the one named Rhamek who had urged them to hold fast. The corsair considered their recent ordeal and responded with a sarcastic smile. 'Tell ya what mate, you go first.'

The group reached Rhamek and heard what he said to them between gasping for air in an attempt to catch their breath, and looking back around in case the danger decided to follow them. The mercenaries had mixed reactions to the Midnight Guardians' tone and choice of words, some remaining silent as others replied with words of their own. Phalx did his best to describe the foul Daemon between panting breaths, using mostly foul language and curses as usual. As Rhamek considered his words Vryala tried to expand upon the description, giving him a clear warning that the Daemon was no push over and that caution was necessary. The Midnight Guardians were well trained warriors, but they were not foolish and these words of caution gave him pause. Elysian then spoke up however, and his sarcasm was quickly followed by a cocky remark from Casaythe. Whilst not at all foolish, the Midnight Guardians did however hold a lot of pride. Most of them had earned a title, and wore it like a badge of honour, eager to show the Drach that it had not been given in vain. Rhamek was known as the Beastslayer, and in the face of mockery he would not back down.

"Very well. Guardians, form on me! We march into mist and shadow to find this foul creature, and show these grunts that true warriors do not flee from terror, but stand and face it, and give it fear of it's own. For Vikarh!"

There was no stopping an ironclad warrior that outranked you tenfold, set on his path of seeking out an opponent he was confident he could defeat, even if he might really be walking to his death. Thus, the group could no little but stand aside and let Rhamek walk through between them, the last five warriors that accompanied him forming up in a wide spaced formation, two out to his sides and another three behind. The group watched them go in silence for a moment, but that silence was suddenly broken by an almighty howl from back down the Skaven infested road. The inhuman sound echoed up from the narrow street, and was moments later followed by a thunderous Boom! that shook the ground even at the top of the road where the mercenaries now stood. Some of Rhameks' men looked at each other, not in fear but seemingly in confusion. The Beastslayer carried on regardless.

The group were left at the junction, Karonath now slumped on the floor in a poor state where the magical lightning had knocked her out. The Mages' knew that they could not give any display of their magical prowess in front of a Midnight Guardian, for males practicing the arcane lore suffered death thanks to the laws of the Witch King. To return to the fight would mean to go hindered by the very presence of the allies they had so desired upon their first encounter with the beast. The fact that Saldrimek might yet live however was drawing other members of the group to consider going back in. Karonath needed to be returned to the estate though, where Yurul the Master Apothecary could look after her until she recovered, before any other danger presented itself that she could not defend herself against.

Considering their next move, the group listened to the distant echo of reaper bolt throwers being fired, and the rumble of monstrous battle cries upon the wind.

Truly, Vikarh was in chaos.

Thu Aug 23, 2012 6:27 pm

Calisson

Corsair

Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:00 pmPosts: 8708Location: Hag Graef

Most surviving members of the group had tried to dissuade the guard captain to go and face the Verminlord.
Still, the Guardians, as they had called themselves, were confident to be able to kill the big rat.
They must be incredible fighters. Glad to have them on my side - or rather in the front.

With these powerful allies going first, and the beast already wounded, the odds were definitively getting better.

I still got some ammo. Shall we follow them?Caraoc recalled that the mesmerizing Shayla had asked them to clear the path through the sewers.

Proposing to follow the Guardians.

<OOC: no song for this time. In case anyone misses it, I provided one in the OOC thread.

_________________Winds never stop blowing, Oceans are borderless. Get a ship and a crew, so the World will be ours! Today the World, tomorrow Nagg!{--|oBrotherhood of the Coast!o|--}

Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:27 pm

Dauricha

Malekith's Best Friend

Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:22 pmPosts: 1032Location: England

The least we could do is watch the bloody fool die. Phalx muttered, as Rhamek and his warriors rode off towards the rat demon. The Shade had no desire to face the demon again, but if anyone had a chance of defeating the thing, it was the 'true warrior'. The bastard might even die,but weaken the beast, letting them jump in and steal all the glory.

Casaythe watched in disbelief as the self assured elf led his Guardians towards certain death. 'Does he know something we don't?' he asked in hushed tones. They had thrown their best at the monster and still it walked. Could this captain do any better? He doubted it.

At Caraoc's question, he shrugged and replied. 'Depends whether this lot are up to it. I could fight the bastard blindfolded and with one hand!' he joked at the stormsinger.

The city was it seemed in peril from all corners. Wherever they went they would be facing near certain death. It might be better for all concerned if they just obliterated one of the horrors roaming Vikarh. The odds were more favourable now that Captain Rhamek had arrived with his troops.

It was the great boom that woke Karonath. She had been watching the thing without any clear idea of what to do, of how to hit a thing like that, when just as she thought she might just say hell with it all and charge the thing, there was a blinding flash and her mind slipped away.

She opened her eyes, on her knees in the middle of the street, at the top of the hill, not at all where she last remembered being. She couldn't see the big blasted rat, but she could see perhaps half a dozen Midnight Guardians trooping down the street line abreast.

Her head hurt badly, she could not hear much but a ringing, and everything looked kind of pale and dim. It would take a little while for her head to right itself, and start doing the things it was meant for. But it would not take her body long to right itself, and her mind, now she was awake again, resumed it's regular program. And if she saw that thing again she would certainly not hesitate to give it a piece of her mind. She had been tired from a long day's work, she knew, but now she saw she would only rest today on a bed made of that wretched thing's fur, or else she would die. She didn't know what it was, or where it came from, but she felt now she could predict where it was going.

So K will try to stand, and if she can do that, walk, and if she can do that, get after the Guardians and go stab the big rat in the neck and get herself a piece of it's fur for her bedroom floor in front of the fireplace.

V resigned to this 'higher authority' with nary a grunt. Should death find her it would not be while showing weakness. Still, she was pretty sure Rhamek had no idea what he was up against, and decided to play it as safe as could be considered honourable.

Six grenades left. The devices had hurt the thing, and made a right mess of its minions. By Khaine, she'd probably empty her belt of them this night.

Caraoc paused a minute to watch what the stars had to tell him.
Progressively, a fierce music of battle made its way into his mind.
He muttered:
"And I wait for the sign in the sky to appear.Telling me that the moment has comeFor me to ride beyond the edge of this worldInto the realms where the shadows are strong

Gods of Thunder of Wind and of Rain.Hugin and Munin my eyes in the sky..."

Finally, Caraoc saw a sign to make him confident that the skies would help making a way across the Verminlord.
Putting his faith in magic and that subtle thing known as fate, Caraoc followed the group of Guardians.
Let's move on!What did Caraoc see in the sky?
Was it the magical storm getting closer with devilish lightnings?
Would a gust of wind push down a chimney and stun the beast?
Was it a meteor making its way down from Heavens towards the position of the fight?
Or did he recall that rats hated water, even a giant one would be annoyed at the coming rain?
He did not tell his comrades. Maybe he did not know in which way Heavens would help. But he was confident about that help.

OOC - Welcome back Layne, as you can see quite a bit has changed in the last few weeks. Try and catch up if you can, but fear not this chapter is drawing to a close.

Dauricha, I just realised I had Phalx drop his crossbow and then reload it in the very next scene, let's just assume he managed to hang onto it.

IC -

Karonath awoke from her unconscious state to a pale, distorted world with the ringing of a distant bell the only sound reverberating around in her head. She blinked in an attempt to correct her vision, before realizing the expanse of white was in fact the snow beneath her feet. No, not beneath her feet, she was kneeling on the cold ground, firm hands clasping her shoulders to keep her upright. She tried to look up at them, but for a moment her body was stiff and her head simply looked around sideways. Some of the snow here was red, and she could see the legs and feet of her companions. No, not all of them, Saldrimek was missing. Still, the tolling of a torturous bell rang about in her mind, and as she tried to shut it out she made the connection. The bells, one of the icons she had seen on the shields of the ratmen, the Skaven which they had been fighting. Her memory rushed back to her, everything from facing the Verminlord to the brilliant flash of white-green light that had knocked her into the dark.

Had they defeated the Daemon? She couldn't see any sign of it and nobody was fighting any more, but the snow was smeared in gore and littered with heaps of fur-clad body parts. Had they hacked it into pieces? No, she realised as she looked about that these were the bodies of several creatures, each much smaller than the Daemon had been, yet still vastly bigger than the Skaven ratmen themselves. And if the group hadn't slain the beast and had moved elsewhere, then there was still a Greater Daemon to be dealt with. Now she tried to stand, and those that were supporting her realised she had come around and helped pull her to her feet. It was Vryala and Fiat, her oldest comrades and closest friends. Vryalas' armour was blackened in places, scorched lines zigzagging across the plate. Fiat looked even worse, his mouth and eyes bloody and his face blackened, also still struggling from the wounds Lord Kronus had inflicted on his shoulders.

Karonath looked around at the others as she shrugged off the helping hands, able and willing to stand on her own, reaching down to retrieve her magical Draich where Fiat had embedded it in the ground point first. She first set her eyes upon Phalx, the Shade looking even more ruffled and wild than usual, his dark hair a mess of knots and grime, a displeased look cast across his alabaster face. Elysian stood beside him, the Mage as always well hidden within the depths of his cloak and robes, the arcane cloak that Vash'nir had once worn amongst them. Then there were the new guys, Caraoc the jewelled and vocal Astromancer, and Casaythe the grimly determined Corsair. But where was Saldrimek? She remembered the howl and the Boom! that had woken her from her unconscious sleep, and turned to look back down the road they had already attempted to take.

Six armoured Midnight Guardians were marching down that way. The rest of the group were now moving to go after them, and Karonath decided to follow them, the bells still ringing in her mind.

The whole road seemed to be cloaked in mist now, but the group knew that it was just smoke and dust upon the air where the warmachine had exploded and where half a wall had tumbled down into the street. They had made it back to the position of their previous combat, and without having encountered the Verminlord again they could only assume it had turned back. The Midnight Guardians were still moving off ahead of them, advancing from cover to cover down the street, casting careful glances up at open windows or into dark alcoves. The further down the street towards the sewer entrance they moved, the more the dusty air cleared and the more they saw of what was up ahead of them, until at last they could see all the way to the sewer entrance now some twenty yards ahead. The Midnight Guardians were already half as close to the looming, broken doorway. Despite their caution and their training, they didn't see the Verminlord strike until it was too late.

The Greater Daemon moved like lightning, which was ironic in that some malign form of the stuff seemed to be it's main weapon against them. It burst from a shadowy corner left of the sewer entrance before anyone had realised it was there, tendrils of the green warp energy already lashing from it's outstretched claws. The closest Midnight Guardian didn't stand a chance, and the green bolts slammed into him as he hopelessly chopped his halberd through the air. Sparks flared as green lightning danced around his body, burning him alive even as the Verminlord descended and swept it's great Doom Glaive through the Guardian in a flash of movement their eyes could barely keep up with. Far from just being split in two by the chaotic weapon, there wasn't enough left of the Midnight Guardian to describe in the aftermath of the blow.

Rhamek reacted instantly, and the rest of the Midnight Guardians a moment after that, sprinting out wide to lure the Verminlord into the clearing before the sewer entrance as they had been trained. The group reacted a moment later than that, surging or advancing forwards to lend their aid to once again trying to defeat the foul Daemon of the Skaven. It was clear that whatever had become of Saldrimek, he had not gone down without a fight. There was a great and bloody wound in the Verminlords' chest, it's fur stained red and a great rent in it's chest still dripping with sizzling ichor that melted the snow where it fell. The same substance fell in droplets from the broken left horn upon it's head. Clearly the Daemon was wounded now, but it was even more obvious that it still had a lot of fight left in it.

Another of the Midnight Guardians was pulped by the Doom Glaive as he tried to get around the Daemon, an overhead chop reducing him to a pool of bloody gore and broken armour.

The Verminlord then turned to face Rhamek, and exposed it's back to the group of mercenaries that had just about had time to think, let alone react to the Greater Daemons' ambush.

All the while, Casaythe couldn't help but look at the strange necklace he had spotted on the ground beneath the Verminlords' feet. The talisman held an alluring, jet black crystal.

Sat Aug 25, 2012 8:25 pm

Nightcall

Malekith's Personal Guard

Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:16 pmPosts: 844Location: England

The troop of Midnight Guardians had led the way, and they had followed. Back, towards the sewer entrance, a mist about the place, clearing slowly until they reached their destination. Of the Khainite, there was no sign, and Casaythe realised heavily that the fellow had probably met a terrible end. Bodies of skaven littered the floor. It was quiet.

This was not to last. The verminlord appeared from its hiding place, and pulverised one of the Guardians with a combined blast of its lightning and a sweep of its glaive. The man's scream barely had time to issue from his lips before all that was left of him was a shower of scorched meat. "Bloody Kraken, we've pissed him off..."

The monster was wounded, a deep gash across its torso. Seemingly the Khainite had hurt it before he had assumedly met his demise.

The Midnight Guard raced outwards, spreading out, to thin the daemon's attention. A clever move. The beast stomped after them, leaving Casaythe and his companions behind the daemon. Another Guardian was slain, and then the daemon turned its attention to Rhamek himself.

Casaythe marched forwards, his glaive held with its tip pointed at the monster's back. As he thought about how he was going to attack, something caught his eye.

It sparkled and shimmered from where it lay in the bloody snow and filthy sludge. Casaythe's avaricious nature overwhelmed him for a moment. He stepped forward and crouched down as quietly as he could, scooping the necklace up with his right hand. Holding it up, he regarded and admired it. The black crystal seemed to call to him, and his attention was lost in its depths. Mesmerised, he placed it around his neck with no heed to caution at all. He wanted to call Caraoc over, to show him what he had found. But now was not the time. They were sneaking up on the verminlord from behind, and he did not want to give away their position by making noise.

Back to the task. Time to kill that bastard.

Has put the necklace on. Unaware that it could be good or bad for him, he just thinks it is a "shiny". If the situation calls for an attack, he will stab at the verminlord's kidney area with his glaive tip.

Last edited by Nightcall on Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sun Aug 26, 2012 6:49 am

Calisson

Corsair

Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:00 pmPosts: 8708Location: Hag Graef

As they were approaching the sewers, many Skaven corpses were scattered everywhere. The group had done a bloody good job with the lesser Skaven.
Still, a greater one remained - with a new large bleeding wound and a missing horn.
How could that beast be beaten?

Caraoc noticed that Casaythe started looting even as the fight was not over.
Nothing wrong, it was a good old corsair habit.

It was at that time that Caraoc remembered how they had once pest controlled their ship, many years ago, in The Empire, with a Pied Piper coming from a town named Hamelin.
The piper man was long dead - he did not resisted well torture - but Caraoc would perfectly be able to reproduce the tune.
However, Caraoc would need for that purpose to blow a pipe, a whistle or a horn.
A horn? There's one missing from the beast. It must remain somewhere.If that horn was to be found, it sure would have highly magical properties.

Looking near the area of the blast, searching for the Verminlord's missing horn.

OOC - I know what most of you wanted to do based on your previous intended actions, so I'll post again while I have the time...

IC -

As they moved down the road, Caraoc found that the skies were unanswering to his calls once more, so instead turned his attention to the ground. All he was really looking for were the patches of glossy ice to avoid, but he spotted the broken horn of the Greater Daemon before they encountered the beast for the second time. The Corsair Mage had stooped down to pick up the broken thing, finding it almost too heavy for a single hand to hold, three feet of dense black bone that still glowed orange at the broken end. He considered it's potential use against the Verminlord, so carried it down the street with him despite it being a weighty burden. Others were looking at the ground too, their eyes sweeping over dead Skaven in search for their missing comrade, but finding nothing of his remains. It wasn't until they reached the clearing before the sewer entrance and the Verminlord struck again that Casaythe saw the talisman on the ground, all other eyes now averted onto the mighty Daemon.

As the Verminlord rounded on Rhamek, cornering him with his back to the sewer entrance, it presented its back to the group of mercenaries. Casaythe took this opportunity not to attack but to race forwards into the position the Daemon had just been standing, running across the flattened snow and then dropping in a crouch to retrieve the talisman. As he moved, members of the Midnight Guardians raced around the flanks of the Greater Daemon and tried to hack at it with their weapons, as Rhamek lured the beast in with awe-inspiring fearlessness. Behind the creature, Vryala readied another hand of fire bombs and moved off in the same direction as Casaythe, as Phalx dropped to one knee and aimed with Deathspitter. Karonath prepared herself to charge into combat, as Elysian stood beside her with Fiat and decided the best course of action to take.

Even as the chittering roar of the Verminlord sent tremors through the ground, Casaythe found his piratical treasure hunting habit far harder to cast aside than the terror that once again threatened to grip him to the spot. He realised he was rummaging through the charred remains of charred leather armour, and the blackened remains of an axe haft splintered between his fingers, the very weapon and armour Saldrimek had worn. Whatever the talisman was, it had belonged to the Khainite. There was no flesh amongst the littered remains, giving Casaythe the impression that either Saldrimek had been utterly destroyed, or yet lived but had fled once his weapon was destroyed. In the unlikely case of the latter, he hoped the Khainite wouldn't mind him borrowing it. The Corsair reached up and put the magical talisman around his neck.

The Verminlord struck at Rhamek as he hopped back into the darkness of the sewer entrance, and it's overhead chop brought the Doom Glaive into the top of the stone building that contained the stairs underground. Clearly the Midnight Guardian was used to fighting brutal monsters, but if his move had been an attempt to lodge the weapon of the Daemon in the stone then it did not work. The chaotic weapon shore through the stone like firewood, and embedded itself in the stone floor of the entranceway. Rhamek reacted quickly, leaping over the haft of the steaming green weapon with agility that belied his muscular, heavily armoured Druchii form. The Beastslayer sprinted free of the sewer entrance just as the Daemon tore it's weapon free from the stone and span after him, sweeping the Doom Glaive around in a wide arc that seemed to scream through the air with a voice of it's own.

Thud! Thud Thud!" Crossbow bolts impacted on the wounded chest and face of the foul Daemon as it turned around to face the retreating Guardian and the group beyond, the other Guardians flowing back from it's flanks like a retreating tide after scoring several hits amidst it's furry flesh. Boom! Vryalas' first fire bomb that had been hurled while the creature had it's back to her now impacted on it's arm instead, setting the fur ablaze momentarily and rocking the Daemon on it's heels. Thud! Thud! More crossbow bolts tore chunks of flesh from the brutal creature as they glanced off it's thick skin, others seemingly turned aside by the mystical aura that seemed to shimmer around the Daemon, a slight overlapping of realities that the arcanists saw as a complex, unnatural ward. Caraoc saw another such magical ward, coming from the dark stone talisman his friend Casaythe had just acquired, creating a bubble of magic resistance around the Corsair.

The Verminlord stomped forwards with an angry rumble sounding in it's throat, lazily sweeping it's weapon around at it's side to keep the annoyance of the striking halberds at bay. With just three steps it had caught up to the retreating Beastslayer, and he was forced to roll aside as yet another sweep of the chaotic glaive nearly smashed him into the snow. Boom! Thud! Thud! Thud! Boom![/i] This time the combined efforts of the group seemed to snatch the Daemons attention from Rhamek, giving the Midnight Guardian precious moments to escape an inevitable doom at it's unholy hands. The Verminlord rounded on the group, Casaythe and Vryala the nearest members, Karonath and Fiat now running towards it just behind them, Elysian, Phalx and Caraoc behind that. For a moment they thought perhaps it was going to charge them, but instead it flung up both it's arms and brought them together with an almighty clap of thunder, the Doom Glaive between them and pointed straight for the group.

The resulting blast was not just a wave of energy, it was a wave of chittering miniature voices. It heralded the appearance of a tide of rats that seemed to crawl from the very air around the Daemon and scurry towards the group, gnawing at everything in their path. In a matter of seconds the vermintide washed over Vryala and Casaythe, and on towards the other members of the group. Vryala hurled a third fire bomb, this one as close to her feet as she dared without risking self immolation, blowing a huge gout of snow and dismembered rodent parts skywards in a flash of brilliant orange. Casaythe meanwhile, found that the magical rats paid him no mind at all, even as he swung his glaive around to defend himself and attempt to thin the endless masses. The vermin simply scurried around him, not passing within a foot of him to either side, nor making use of the passage between his feet. He stood in a circle of white amidst a tide of black fur, wondering what luck had saved him this time. He turned to Caraoc, thinking perhaps the Astromancer had something to do with his good fortune.

The Mage however did not seem to be looking, he was staring down at the broken horn of the Verminlord that he had obtained a few minutes ago on their way down the road. The Mage had made quick work with his Corsairs' knife to cut away the very tip of the blackened bone, and now he was digging the marrow from the unholy instrument to hollow out it's core. Quite what he hoped to achieve Casaythe did not know, turning his attention back on the Verminlord a moment later as it swung for a nearby Midnight Guardian, and stomped off after the retreating man before smashing him against the wall of a building with it's bulk, impaling him on it's one good horn and then tearing him apart between great clawed paw and chisel like teeth. His black armour was no match for the Daemon, which gorged itself on the red entrails within for a moment, leaving it's tide of magical rodents to stall the group, Karonath and Fiat hacking their way through even as they risked being dragged to their knees.

Now the vermintide reached the last three members of the group, ignoring Casaythe and being temporarily stalled by Vryala, it swarmed around them and straight over and around Karonath and Fiat, onto the waiting Mages and Shade. Phalx fired a few pot shots into the masses, but Deathspitter clicked empty and he realised the iron bolts would be a waste against such endless numbers, turning to stamping on the little fiends instead as they tore leather from his bootstraps with their gnawing teeth, and bit holes in the bottom of his sweeping cloak as he moved, searching for flesh. Elysian found himself likewise threatened by the scurrying rats, unable to blast them with shadow magic for fear of Rhameks' reprisal, he too stamped up and down, thinking of something better to do. Slightly behind them, Caraoc lifted his finished horn into the air to admire it, the black bone edges sharp and certainly unfinished, but for the moment it would suffice.

Caraoc had fashioned a battle-horn from the antler of the Greater Daemon of the Skaven, and had no idea what would happen when he pressed it to his lips.

Elysian was really going off rats, both big and small the furry bastards never ceased to confound him. Whatever small satisfaction he had in seeing the high and mighty Midnight Guard put in their place by a greater daemon was tempered by the fact that the daemon would happily devour him as well given half a chance. Just at this moment though it was the Verminlord's tiny little cousins that were giving him most trouble. Several spells ran through his mind to turn the critters away and all were immediately dismissed; the Midnight guard might be distracted but behind the Convent and the Black Guard there were none he feared exhibiting his arcane abilities before. Even being devoured by rats would be preferable to the fate that awaited Vauvalka. He had to do something though, already his light leather boots were in a terrible state and his flesh was seconds away from the kind of gnawing he would really rather avoid. There were far too many rats to kill, he had to get above them. Glancing round at the buildings to either side he looked for a likely place, from there he could do a little to help the fight, though without his magic it would be little indeed.

Bit low on ideas. He will try and get above the swarm onto one of the ruined buildings around. From there he will take a few pot-shots at the Vermin lord with his handbow.

_________________Moding a group of Druchii.net players is much like directing the musical 'Cats' using actual cats. Frustrating, difficult, chaotic but ultimatley satisfying and a great deal of fun.

Arch Deacon of the RPG forumGentleman of Moderation

Mon Aug 27, 2012 11:28 am

Nightcall

Malekith's Personal Guard

Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:16 pmPosts: 844Location: England

He had tucked the talisman in beneath his bevor*discretely, as he realised that it was probably once the property of Saldrimek. Judging by the ashes he had ran his fingers through as he picked the necklace up, the Khainite had gone to his master's realm in a blast of warpfire. Ashen remains of leather armour, an axe handle, and clothing had lain on the slush covered cobblestones, but no definite trace of a body was there. There was the odd chance that he had escaped naked through the snow, but the corsair thought that was less likely than Caraoc being able to sing something in tune for once.

A crash brought his attention back to the fight at hand. He witnessed the verminlord swing its glaive through stone masonry as if it were made of paper. The Midnight Guardian Captain was trying a ploy which seemed not to be working. The sound of bolts being shot filled the air, then some of Vryala's explosive bombs. It seemed that the only way to bring the monster down was slowly. They had no other choice. Just keep chipping away at the daemon and try to stay alive.

The terrible beast drew fell powers to itself for another attack. Preparing for more lightening, Casaythe gripped his glaive and steadied himself for the impact. Surprisingly, the rat summoned something else. A chattering sea of fur.

A carpet of angry rats swarmed towards them. Casaythe had never seen anything like it. Even in all his years at sea, and the infested holds he had come across, nothing had matched this tide of ravenous rodents. With sharp teeth, they gnawed at anything they came across, and as they reached Vryala and Casaythe, the corsair swept his glaive about to cleave them, or stamped at them with his boots. But what was this? The rats moved around like crashing waves around a rock. They were ignoring him. He looked to Caraoc, wondering if his crazed stormsinging friend had cast some sort of protection spell upon him. But he seemed preoccupied with a knife and the daemon's discarded horn. What was going on?

Is confused but grateful. Not sure what to do about all the rats, and he isn't convinced they're actually real as the verminlord has summoned them out of thin air.

((OOC: *Part of his armour protecting throat – sticks out from his chest plate))

Good find!It was a horn. A thick, three feet long, billy goaty horn.
The horn was as dark as the night, but with the broken part glowing a faint orange magic essence, the mage’s arcane senses had spotted it.

Caraoc grabbed it.
Wow, that weighs heavier than gold!Luckily, the Verminlord’s horn had been broken at its half, and the part that he had lost could be transported by a lone elf.

As he carried the horn towards the end of the street, Caraoc toyed with the dark object.
With his bare hands, he was feeling simultaneously the rugged surface and the faint magic exhaling from it.

To turn a normal horn into a music instrument would take some time but was not that difficult. However, this one was very special: it had belonged to a daemon.
Caraoc took his knife. The first cut was made just to feel how hard it was. The horn seemed to twist slightly and to become heavier, and no scar could be felt where the knife had cut.
Cuddling the horn, Caraoc made a mental image of the intended result.

Placing the wider part on the ground, Caraoc started to carve the tip. The hard bone had become soft and smooth. Drilling a hole took hardly any time.
He could swear that the horn had accepted its fate and was now cooperating.
What a surprise it will make to its former owner!

Next, the opening was adjusted to adapt to elven lips. Caraoc was not sure yet that he would dare to put his mouth there, but the excitement proved stronger.
And the Skavens? Oh, they will fear that sound. Like the rats of Hamelin!

Now, the content of the horn had to be cleared off. With the knife and the tip of an arrow, that was done with little effort.
I’m wondering what effect the horn will have on other beasts? On humans? Will they feel the same terror as we did?

Finally, the last soft parts were blown off.
Will the horn be able to destroy whole castle walls? There's a legend 'bout that.Caraoc craved with lust. Surely that horn would prove to be extraordinary.
I will give the horn a special name. What about Ratgeridoo?

This is when Caraoc sensed a danger.
A tide of vermin had invaded the street. All the members of the group were trying frantically to stomp them flat off.
Caraoc was going to be the next victim.
Without thinking, he seized the newly made horn and placed his lips on the opening.
"Ptt!." <No sound.>
Need more power. The first vermin was arriving at his feet.
Deep breath. Lungs filled of Azyr air.
"TooooooooOOOOOoooooot."The pitch was squeaky. The sound was powerful, very powerful. Everything trembled. It would swallow the whole body and shake every hair and fur.
<resuming breath>
"ToooooooooOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOooooooooot. – cough! cough!"Caraoc stopped only short from exploding.

Only then he realized that he may have goofed.
Oops? What if the daemon recognizes his former horn and gets angry?… too late.

OOC - Calisson, I vote Didge! Anything Australian gets my vote (including you Neil ) - plus we run Didgeridoo workshops at work (I can't play it though).

IC -

The group were fortunate, for the Verminlord had left them to deal with a multitude of tiny rodents but had turned it's own attention back on Rhamek and his men. Three of the six Midnight Guardians were now dead, the Daemon turning around and almost grinning as it bared it's gore stained teeth at the Druchii, a smear of blood on the building wall beside it where it had struck the Guardian with it's horn. The Greater Daemon stomped forwards and, content to let it's lesser kin keep the mercenaries pinned down for the moment, loomed over Rhamek once again. The Beastslayer only had two Midnight Guardians left fighting at his side, and each of them circled around to one of the Verminlords' flanks as it charged their master.

It was no use, the Daemon ignored their sweeping halberds as they tried to gain it's attention, and swept it's Doom Glaive in a flurry of lightning quick arcs that each knocked Rhamek backwards, until suddenly his halberd was sent flying from his grip. A moment later the tip of the chaotic weapon was thrust through his chest, plunging into the Guardian with enough force to drive him to his knees and then crumple his armour against the ground, burying him in the snow and crushing his body inside the iron cage that was supposed to defend it. Even as their master was struck a mortal blow, his two remaining Guardians swept in with expert precision, each hacking his halberd into one of the Greater Daemons' hamstrings. This elicited a great chittering cry of pain, or perhaps purely of rage, from the Verminlord.

In the seconds it took for Rhamek to die, the group had achieved little other than stamping yet more of their verminous assailants into the snow. Elysian had retreated and hopped onto a chunk of fallen masonry, Phalx following him a moment later. Some of the rats found passage onto their stone perch by a shallow angle at one end, but the pair kept these few gnashing pests at bay with kicks and stomps. Elysian pointed his handbow and took a few shots at the Verminlord as it loomed over what was left of Rhamek, Phalx still struggling to reload Deathspitter as he drove the rats away from his feet. Elysians' aim was true, but the Verminlord was next to impervious to such minor concerns, a few bolts passing through it's word and sticking in it's flesh to no reaction whatsoever from the Daemon. It would take the combined efforts of more than one crossbow or handbow to make the Verminlord bleed faster than it could regenerate.

All the while, Casaythe continued to hack about himself with wild abandon despite the rats giving him a wide berth, and Vryala struggled to avoid being overwhelmed by the endless tide of rats, noticing the way the critters avoided the Corsair just as she noticed he had tucked Saldrimeks' talisman below his collar. Fiat waded into the thick of the rats like an ogre did into a throng of dwarfs, swinging his halberd left and right, sweeping the blade along the ground all about him and sending disembowelled, decapitated and dismembered rats flying into the air. Still, the rats poured over him, eating away his cloak and chewing through his leather boots, several hanging to the wooden haft of his halberd by their teeth. Sooner or later, Fiats' strength would give out and he would fall, and then it would only take the vermin seconds to strip the flesh from his bones and gorge themselves on everything they found within.

Karonath however was ignoring the lesser threat, and she waded through the rats with heavy steps, like trying to plough through knee high snow and thus moving steadily rather than charging. She swept her magical Draich left and right, and where it touched one of the rats the vermin dissipated in a sigh of expelled magic. Every stroke sent dozens of the things back into the realm from which they and their foul Daemon master had come, but for every dozen she slay there seemed to be a hundred others. She waded her way towards the Verminlord, now watching as it left Rhameks' blood to cool amidst the snow and rounded on one of the two remaining Midnight Guard. She was ready and willing to meet the Verminlord in combat, but the tide of vermin was keeping her momentarily at bay, like a hound snapping at the edge of it's leash, slowly working it's chain loose of the wall that held it.

While all of the chaos raged around the sewer entrance, Caraoc barely lifted his head to look upon the Verminlord or to keep a wary eye on the vermin drawing ever closer to his feet. It wasn't that he was no longer terrified of the Daemon, just that he was concentrating on the enchantment that allowed the daemonic horn to be cut, for no mortal blade would mark it. As he hollowed it out and perfected the lip piece it became surprisingly lighter, and he looked up just in time to see the rats swarm about his feet, Elysian and Phalx having darted past and jumped up onto a fallen stone pillar. The Astromancer followed them, holding his horn in one hand as he pulled himself onto the rock with the other, before turning and bringing the newly fashioned horn to his lips.

As Caraoc blew the magical horn, a deep reverberating soundwave echoed around the clearing. The chittering of the rats turned frightful and they panicked, turning and fleeing as quickly as they had emerged, heading for dark holes in the sides of buildings and the shadowy corners of the road, or simply running into thin air the same way they had appeared. The Verminlord did not flee, but rather stopped in it's tracks and dropped the still living Guardian it had just picked up, about to bite his head off with it's chisel like teeth. It inclined it's head towards Caraoc, and for a moment it did not move, and nor did any of the Druchii. Tension filled the air in the momentary standstill. Then suddenly, almost too fast for the eye to see, the Greater Daemon was on the move again.

The Verminlord howled in rage, and threw itself at the group with it's Doom Glaive sweeping out before it, intent on running down Caraoc and plucking his soul from the realm of the living.

OOC - Almost there guys, but hey, I never said this one would be easy

Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:51 pm

Dauricha

Malekith's Best Friend

Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:22 pmPosts: 1032Location: England

Stay back you bastards, Phalx spat, as he slashed his short sword forwards again, causing the nearest ratmen to jump back a step. Still no room to reload Deathspitter. Blast and bugger. He heard Elysian's smaller handbow fire, but what could it do against the demon? He had seen a few of the midnight guard go down, and from the sounds behind him, more of the silly buggers were dying.

Why did he agree to go back and face this madness? He dodged under a sword, more rust then anything, and killed the Skaven with a quick swipe of his horn dagger. The wild Shade moved with the mage, cutting down vermin this way and that. They were all beset, vermin tide rising up here and there to bring them down, their lord watching over it all like the dark mad god it was. They were joined by the seafarer, who was carryign a most strange horn.

What fresh madness have you bl... Before Phalx could continue, the horn sound. It was a deep powerful sound, nothing like the mad Shade had heard before. The rats screamed their panic, on the back foot again, running and skittering this way and that for cover, for the dark holes where they had come from. Phalx grinned, even their great horrid master had frozen at the sound of th magical thing. Then it was over.

frigHe whispered, as the great demon bared down upon them. Well there were worse ways to die he guessed. Ah balls to that!

Phalx will dive out of the way, putting as much space between himself, hornblower and the Verminlord.

Caraoc could swear that the horn had bursted in laugh. A maniacal, sarcastic laugh. Or was it Caraoc's last cough?

The horn blow had surprised its former owner the Verminlord - check.It had repelled the rats - check.It had frozen all elfs for a second - check.It did not make any wall fall down, not even snow - no check.... but it had also irritated the daemon - check.

The Verminlord's reaction did not surprise Caraoc the slightest. He was used to meet assistances who disliked his musical skills.
Still, he had never before pissed off a daemon.

Gulp!... high time to Run Into the Shadows.(cf. OOC)
"Well life's running forwards, at full speed,I'm not looking backwards, again"

Caraoc knew the path to the building where he had taken refuge once.
The floor was accessible from the street, climbing the rubbles he had run down previously.
Further inside, there was an access left open to the floor below. After that...
"The feeling of home, - Won't be mine...So take the horn of mine, - Look to the sky..."

In the best of the worlds, the call that Caraoc had made earlier to his lucky star would result in an unpredictable "natural" event, saving his life.
Or with luck, the Verminlord would skid on the frozen street and hurt himself.
Or both.
Hopefully, the warriors would have time to kill the already wounded daemon, who was only interested in the Pied Hornblower - but everyone knew that this focus would not last longer than Caraoc himself - not that Caraoc did care much about what would happen afterwards, though.

Reaching that house was taking forever, according to the corsair's taste.
While running like he was flying, Caraoc the pilot explained to the horn why they were speeding to Heavens together.
Somehow, he had the feeling that the horn was answering him.
"Together we will fly, - Together we will- (fly).- We will be together, - It's only a matter of time. - (matter of time).- It's you and me together...- (forever)- It may seem like forever, - Forever's just a matter of time...Give up your hands to... - (the sky)... (Forever, I let you go) ...(I never... let... you... go)."

Evading, running towards the same house where he took refuge once.Making friends with his horn.

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